American Journalism 1690-1940

"I would rather live in a country with newspapers and without a government, than in a country with a government but without newspapers" - Thomas Jefferson. This is the sixth volume in a set traces the development of American journalism from its early beginnings in the 17th century up until 1940. Together the books outline the enormous changes which the industry underwent, from the production techniques to journalistic practices and changes in distribution methods. Media historians considered Hudson's history, "Journalism in the United States, from 1600-1872 (1873)", to be the authoritative text for the study of the development of American journalism, a subject previously neglected by American historians. The work has remained an important source for modern day scholars. Hudson (1819-75) became known as "the father of journalism" for his innovative news-gathering practices and was managing editor of the New York Herald, which by the outbreak of the Civil War was the most widely read newspaper in the United States. Alfred McClung Lee's "The Daily Newspaper in America. The Evolution of a Social Instrument" is an extensive examination of the newspaper industry from 1710 to 1936, from an economic and sociologically point of view, fully backed by statistical data. Lee provides a general study of the subject, with his work covering such topics as labour, ownership and advertising. Frank Luther Mott's contribution to journalism history, " American Journalism. A History of Newspapers in the United States through 250 Years, 1690 to 1940" appeared in 1941 and has been used by generations of journalism students. The work has been described by one reviewer as a history of "American folkways, as reflected in its press". Through this work and others on academic journalism, Mott (1886-1964) became known as one of the founding giants of journalism education. As a major encyclopedic reference work, the book concentrates on ten major subject areas, with each section containing a selective and briefly annotated bibliography.